Lingering illness and pressing business have kept me away from blogging for the past few days, but I shall return to the fray -- untanned, unrested, and, like Ethelred, unready -- as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, I urge you to the check out a remarkable compendium that Arthur Silber has put together at his site, drawing together several essays from over the years that touch upon some of the deepest wellsprings of our various bedevilments, both public and private. In a world more just, humane and sane, this collection would be published in book form, to stand as an honored and much-consulted volume on many a shelf. But to paraphrase that great humanitarian, Donald Rumsfeld, you don't get to live in the world you want; you've got to live in the world you have. So this assemblage of links will have to do for now. Give it a look at this URL [my link function is not working at the moment]: http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2009/10/meaningful-connections.html.